The present invention relates to a golf ball having a transfer printed mark superior in luster as well as durability.
As a method for marking golf balls, various techniques have been well known including a direct printing technique as typified by a pad printing technique, a transfer printing technique stamping a solid transfer printing film with a die, and a thermal transfer printing technique. The latter uses a transfer printing film having a desired pattern of transfer ink layer on a base film, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. 63137/1978. Other transfer printing techniques have also been proposed which optimize miscellaneous transfer printing films.
However, every known technique as mentioned above is no more than a technique that in essence employs conventional inks for marking. Therefore, by mixing inks, although it has been successful to some extent to create subtle hues or pastel tones in a mark, such a method has not yet been obtained that can afford a metallic lustered mark which is deemed to be distinct and excellent in appearance.
In general, in order to obtain a transfer printed mark having a metalic luster, a transfer printing film can be used which comprises a metal foil layer therein. However, such film cannot be adapted for the marking of golf balls because the mark transferred from the film may not have sufficient durability considering that a golf ball is an object to be hit repeatedly by a club head weighing over 200 grams with a club head velocity of over 40 meters per second. Thus, the tackiness of the mark to the ball surface is specifically important.
Consequently, an object of the invention is to provide a golf ball bearing a transferred mark which has a distinct and excellent appearance and is superior in durability.
As a result of earnest studies and investigation to achieve the above object, the inventors found that when metal particles are incorporated in an ink composition together with a pigment, a transferred mark can be formed having an excellent appearance as well as preserving a sufficient durability on a golf ball.
In a preferred mode of the present invention, an ink composition contains 1 to 5 parts by weight of a pigment and 20 to 35 parts by weight of a dispersion of metal particles.
The particle used herein is suitably in a flattened form having an average thickness of 50 to 500 angstroms and an average diameter, i.e. average length or breadth of 10 to 60 microns.
As a metal aluminum, chromium, cobalt, steel, silver, gold and nickel alloy including an alloy of nichrom are specifically contemplated for use in the present invention as the particles. The invention will now be described in detail mainly exemplifying aluminum particles, which finds the most preferable results.